{
  "id": 12588059,
  "title": "Smart working, la pausa pranzo viene penalizzata",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/smart-working-la-pausa-pranzo-viene-penalizzata",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-07T08:38:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Il Sole 24 Ore",
    "slug": "il-sole-24-ore",
    "url": "https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/smart-working-pausa-pranzo-viene-penalizzata-AJapyqbB"
  },
  "original_language": "it",
  "account": "Smart working, hailed for its promise of freedom, reveals an unforeseen downside when it comes to the lunch break: loneliness, skipped meals, and fewer opportunities for interaction, according to the Camst-Censis report \"Lo spazio e il cibo – Nuove geografie della socialità\". The study, presented in Bologna, found that 54.7% of agile workers typically eat alone, 36.2% skip the break or eat while working, and 34.9% feel stressed about preparing their meals. Nearly 30% feel the weight of not eating with coworkers, and 26.6% believe this absence negatively impacts their work. Sixty percent experience at least one of these consequences.\n\nFrancesco Malaguti, Camst's president, sees this as a signal that a new equilibrium needs to be found. \"Agile work has brought significant benefits in terms of flexibility, autonomy, and better time management, but we must also highlight that certain dimensions of the work experience are not easily replaceable.\" The lunch break, he stresses, is what the screen cannot replicate: \"Eating together is not just about nourishment; it's about being in an informal space where trust, belonging, and idea exchange are built.\"\n\nDigital presence, he adds, are not alternatives but complements. The food, he says, could become a lever to bring people back to the office. \"Presence is not created by obligation, but by value,\" observes Malaguti. \"People choose to go to the office when they perceive they will find something at work that they don't have at home: relationships, collaboration, well-being, opportunities for growth, and the quality of the daily experience.\"\n\nNo, it's not just a prettier cafeteria, but welcoming, flexible, and inclusive environments. The numbers explain why. Eighty-five percent say a good lunch break helps build personal relationships with colleagues; 82.2% say it strengthens team and company membership, and 83.3% says it contributes to well-being. Fourty-four percent have received useful suggestions or information at the table for their work. \"The lunch break is not necessarily time subtracted from work; it can also be time that returns value to work itself,\" sums up the president.\n\nA good food space, according to the respondents, also improves relationships, job satisfaction, and even productivity. The old cafeteria, the study says, can change its look. \"The catering business can increasingly become part of people's experience and welfare policies of the company,\" Malaguti says. For Camst, the evolution means designing an \"ecosystem that integrates food, spaces, technology, and services\" with environments usable throughout the day. The photo researcher concludes with an hyper-digital society, choosing locations to consume meals based on what they see or are recommended on social media, but almost eight out of ten attribute physical spaces a decisive role in conviviality. For Camst, this is also a trajectory in terms of business strategy: the Bologna group closed 2025 with 610 million in revenue, 26 million in operational margin, and 13.6 million in profit. The company distributes over 80 million meals a year and manages 1,853 activities in Italy. The 2025-2029 strategic plan allocates 115 million in investments. Malaguti concludes, \"The goal is not simply to serve meals, but to help create environments where people can feel good and build meaningful relationships.\"",
  "summary": "Lo smart working prometteva più libertà, ma alla prova della pausa pranzo presenta un conto inatteso: solitudine, pasti saltati e meno occasioni di relazione. È il dato più netto del...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}